This Is The Most Affordable Meat Cut

The Philippines may have the most affordable groceries in the region but that doesn’t mean it’s affordable for everyone, especially during these pandemic times. When it comes to the grocery budget, meat is usually the grocery item that might use it up the most. Pinoys do love their meat!

If you’re watching your budget like a hawk, you should know ways to keep within or even below that amount. To do that, you need to learn what are the most affordable meat cuts on the market. For pork and beef, these are usually the least tender meat cuts or the cuts that are not as coveted. 

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The beef shank or bulalo is a succulent and affordable beef cut.

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The pork and beef cuts that are usually the cheapest among the choices in the meat display are the pork and beef innards (liver, intestines, hearts, lungs, etc). The meaty cuts that are among the cheapest include the pork maskara or the pork jowl and cheek, the beef cheeks, beef neck cuts, and beef bulalo or beef shank, and the pork pata. 

Innards are not often requested which is why it’s affordable. The other cuts are bony cuts and this is why it’s not as coveted as the meatier meat cuts. The beef shank and pork pata cuts are weighed down by the large bone of the leg. (However, you get a bonus when you get this bony cut: it makes for the tastiest pork sinigang, nilaga, and bulalo.) 

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What’s the cheapest meat cut? 

The most affordable meat cut in the meat section however is the chicken. Pork and beef prices are skyrocketed to almost equal prices but the chicken remains more affordable than either meat. Even among the chicken parts, it’s not obvious which is the most budget-friendly unless you really look.

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The chicken meat cuts you will commonly see are the wings, legs, breasts, and quartered pieces. Chicken necks, gizzards, livers, and hearts are all cheap but are not as coveted as the meatier cuts. The meatiest cut that you and many people may overlook is also the most practical as well as the most affordable cut: the whole chicken. 

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A whole chicken is usually the most affordable chicken “cut” because it’s not been prepared in any way. The butchers exert no effort in presenting it to you, and many people adore just the legs or just the breasts. These select choices are what make these cuts more expensive since there are only two on a chicken. 

Buy a whole chicken, learn to cut it up yourself at home, and you’ll be saving at least P20 and as much as P30 a kilo*! 

The best news is that you don’t just get just the breasts or just the legs. You get two of each! Plus, you don’t even have to cut up the chicken to cook it if you have an oven. Roast the chicken whole and not only get a fantastic tasting chicken, but you also get to cook it with little effort, too. 

Change the way you shop when it comes to meat cuts and see if you can find these recipes for using the whole chicken as delicious as it is budget-friendly. 

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* Prices are as of publication. 

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